She woke up with a start, the insistent buzzing of her alarm clock finding its way into her subconscious. Startled she open her eyes and saw daylight shining brightly from her windows. She grabbed her phone to see it was already past 7. With a sigh she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stood to get ready.

The morning routine is underway in her household. The faint voice of her mother can be heard from below. The smell of breakfast wafts deliciously upstairs and her stomach is quick to make itself heard, grumbling loudly in response. She hurriedly puts on her clothes to go downstairs and heads straight to the kitchen.

She can hear her mother humming a tune under her breath and went to greet her with a back hug.

“Oh, you're awake already,” her mother said. “You should try and sleep a little bit more while you can now that you have some time off.”

She kept her arms around her mother, enjoying her warmth. “I’ve slept enough. I wanted to see you before you leave.” Her voice is muffled by her mother’s sweater.

She sat and ate the lovely breakfast set in front of her, and they chatted about nothing in particular. She missed home more than she cared to admit. And although she’s been extremely independent for so many years, coming home has always been a pleasure, especially when it meant basking in her mother’s care.

“I will be in the ladies’ club meeting with Mrs. Soong and company,” her mother said. “What are you doing today? Would you like to join me?”

“No, thank you. I'm just going to walk around the town, I think. Besides, there's the park I used to visit that I’ve been wanting to see again. I think I'll pack something and just roam around for today.”

“That may not be a bad idea; today's forecast looks good and the skies are quite clear. Make sure you wear a straw hat; they’re in the hallway closet, dear. And make sure to bring enough water to drink.”

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She carried a small backpack where she kept her snacks and drinks. She brought only the barest minimum because she wanted to walk around and not be too encumbered. She set off right after breakfast to avoid the glare of the midday sun.

The park itself is not very far but is off the beaten track. It lies just beyond the hill several blocks away, past the row of houses in the cul-de-sac of their neighborhood. When she was still a young girl it had been a favorite place for her to hang out.

She walked over the hill that seemed to have gotten smaller, not as taller than she recalled.

Funny how one’s memory can be inconsistent with reality, she mused. She knew it hasn’t changed. Her perception as a young girl made the hills seem much larger, steeper to climb.

She took the trail which disappeared into the more forest-y area of the park. It has changed very little after so many years. The shallow pond is still there though appearing narrower. There are still ducks around and they quack just as loudly and incessantly.

She followed the river as it winds its way further inside the park. She noted with some sadness the river banks appear rockier and it slopes more sharply at the corner. There has been some erosion damage and the river is no longer as full nor as wide as she recalled it to be. But it has been well kept and maintained. Several new flowers and shrubberies now line the banks.

She was sad to note that her spot has become more of a public place from the presence of benches set up under the line of trees. She walked farther down following the stream until she reached a more densely shrubbed area where new bamboo saplings line the bank. Here it is more secluded; the grass slightly fuller, the trees thicker and set closer together.

She sat herself under the shade of young birch trees. It isn't the same as the lovely cherry blossom trees she used to sit under, the old spot she had picked when she was much younger, but this serves her just as well. It is secluded; it is quiet and shaded; it is just as lovely.

A few butterflies flitted about her and she sat still, holding out her hand waiting to see if these beautiful creatures will set down. But they flit off, sparkling in the glimmering sunlight. She leaned back against the tree and looked out to enjoy the scenery. From her vantage point, she can still glimpse the tail end of the river before it bends to the east.

She is still very much a creature of habit, preferring the solitude, her books, the privacy nature affords. She is quiet by nature. People tend to mistake it as being sad all the time, even depressed. But she is not. She tends to be pensive being an introvert, yes. But she enjoys the company of her friends and she is happiest like this, by herself or with just a few of her loved ones.

She has been working hard these past few months. It didn’t help her recent injury added to her burden. But she had enjoyed this last project, tiring though it was and challenging in more ways than one. She enjoyed finding new friends as well as the chance to work with the old ones. At this, her thoughts cannot help but jump to him. He is never far from her thoughts anymore, it seems. And her eyes acquire that faraway look again.

It is almost inconceivable how things have turned out. During all this time they were filming, they were inseparable. She let herself be swept away by emotions that were new and exciting and thrilling; these same impulses she has never felt before and have only read about. And for once, muted her own fears and misgivings and just let herself be happy in the moment. So cautious is she in character, that her very close friends noticed the difference in her. She had let her guard down and allowed herself to just live and love and feel. Before she knew it, he made himself at home in her thoughts, in her heart. Now she can no longer go back to how things were before there was him, before without him. Her emotions have gotten all tangled up and she feared with their work together now being done, would things still remain the same.

She took her journal and started flipping through the pages, rereading her past entries, her poems. Most of them have been about love lately; some tasting of happiness, flavored by one who has fallen in love; while others are tinged with melancholy, of one who wished for love yet feared the heartbreak it could bring.

She started scribbling a few more thoughts down, her eyes taking on that faraway look again; one that seems to be looking outward, but hardly seeing anything else around her. She has taken to writing down her feelings, her thoughts. It has become very therapeutic for her.

Here above the canopy of the trees,

the sun shines brightly; the breeze is cool.

The flowers bloom fragrantly

but my eyes hardly see the beauty all around.

I search for you in the clouds;

I listen for your voice in the flowing river streams;

I yearn for your touch under the sun;

I  miss the warmth of your skin.

I sit and I wait and I think of you

And wonder if you think of me.

Do you wonder if I'm lonesome?

Do I color your memories?

She thought of their last shooting day. How emotional they both were; how they both were teary saying their goodbyes in front of the camera. There had been no chance to say proper goodbyes to each other. They stuttered, hearts in their eyes, feeling melancholy. Even the camera was able to catch the heavy air around them. He tried, this much she knew, while they were still on site, to speak to her, to thank her for being there for him. Several times, he moved as if to corner her away from the others. But there were just too many people, too many eyes.

They joined the crew for an evening dinner out afterwards, each not wanting the night to end. The others were busy drinking and talking shop. He…he only had eyes for her. She had an inkling he would follow her in the darkened hallway when she excused herself to wash. But it still took her by surprise to find him waiting when she rounded the corner. Her steps faltered seeing him leaning on the wall, waiting for her, looking like a lost little boy.

He pushed himself off from the wall and walked forward until he met her halfway. Her heart thudded seeing him approach. She wasn’t trying to avoid him, no, not at all. But she was unsure how to proceed, what to do now that their work is done. It felt as if they needed closure. As if playtime is over and they needed to go back to reality.

He didn’t say anything, just stared at her with those soulful eyes, with looks that could melt glaciers. And God help her, she did. She does. Melt. Every single time.

She bit her lips unable to say anything. They just stood together, staring at each other, both still feeling overwrought.

She cleared , unable to stand still under his intense scrutiny. “We should head back to the table.”

“No.”

One word, but the weight of it startled her. Then he moved to close the distance between them.

She got up when the midday sun started becoming warm. She was hoping to stay longer in the park, to read and maybe even dose off, but her hideaway under the trees was no longer comfortable. The frail canopy overhead has become useless in blocking the sunlight. She reached for her bag to check the time and found she left her phone at home. But gauging how the sun is right over her head, she guessed it must be nearing noon time.

She starts folding the blanket, planning to move to a shadier spot when she heard a rustle, a voice cutting into her reverie.

“Do you make it a habit to run away each time?”

She stood stock-still. She kept her back to him while she braced herself, not quite trusting herself to face him just yet.

His voice is so familiar. She would know it even in her dreams, even amongst other voices clamoring in the din.

“I didn’t run away. I told you I was going home.”

“In a text, not even a phone call.”

“Not true.” She is busy folding the blanket. But she heard her voice: the studied calm in them, the lack of any undertones. And she knew he heard it too. He knew her quite well, much to her chagrin.

“I tried to call—”

He interrupted, “my phone rang once.”

She held no answer to that. She turns to find him holding her bag open, helping her put the folded blanket away.

“I tried calling you.” He said, zipping the bag, their hands brushing each other. Even now, there is an electricity palpable between them.

“I left my phone. Unintentionally.” She added before he could say otherwise.

He didn’t answer. She spared him a quick glance. He didn’t look upset. Just a heavy quietness which is more disconcerting to her. He is never too quiet with her.

“How did you find me?” she asked lightly.

“I called your mother. She told me where you would be.”

A pause, then she said, “I wasn’t avoiding you.”

“Just like you weren’t trying to escape the other night after dinner?”

She opens but closes it right back again. She finds she didn’t have anything to say.

“I wish you would just tell me outright-- ”

“But I did! Yes, it's through a text—” she was quick to defend herself, but his voice cut her short.

“-- just tell me outright if you don’t want us, want this...because I don’t know what to do anymore.”

He had stopped walking and stood just staring out toward the expanse of the park.

He turned to face her again, “I know you still think this isn’t real, that it is all residual from the drama— no, let me finish.”

She tried to speak, to make him understand. But the look he gave her is enough to silence her.

“Tell me what I need to do to prove to you this is real. Because I love you so much that the thought you might not really love me back is breaking my heart.”

“I…. I…”

She cleared , her heart clenching in disbelief that he is the one feeling this way. She has been fearful for herself, not realizing that in her self-preservation, she is the one causing him pain.

“I knew you warned me it won’t be easy. I get that. But I need to know if this is something you want.” His voice finally cracks under the weight of his words.

Her tears came then. She wants him with an ache she couldn't begin to form in words.

“I do. I love you. I just wanted time for us that is why I came home. I wanted to give us some air, a chance to decide if this is what we really wanted.”

He hated seeing her tears. But he kept himself still, not trusting himself to come to her, knowing when he does he will take her in his arms. He needed her to decide, to realize. Their future depends on it.

“My feelings are not going to change no matter how many days or nights pass. I told you before that I want you. That I will see us through this. Won’t you trust me enough to know that I know myself? That I do know enough when I say I’m in love with you, not because of some fake lovestory?”

She walks over to him then, looking up at him through tear filled eyes.

His own eyes filled knowing he is lost, so lost in love with her. He knew he cannot give her up, not when he can see that she loves him too, whether she admits this or not.

“I admit I'm scared of losing you." Her voice trembled. "But I didn’t run away from you; I was trying to see if I can still live without you, if after all that has happened these weren't real.”  She shivered not from the cold, but from the chill of a love that she could lose.

“And? Can you? Can you live without me? ” He whispered, the tinge of fear in his voice unmistakable.

“No. Not anymore. I can’t.” And she reached to place his hand in her heart, to show him, to let him feel her heart beating strong and fast in his presence; that it beats because of him, just for him.

He reaches out to wipe the trace of tears from her cheeks; he sees how vulnerable she has become being in love like this, because of him. And he understood; he feels just as vulnerable because of her.

"I don't know what the future will bring, but I know the only future I see is with you." He took her hand to place it over his own chest this time.

“This heart has always been yours. It has been for a very long time. I love you, my Bo Youngie.”

“I never loved anybody else, Hyung Sikkie,” and she brought him down for a kiss.

Loud yells and claps reverberated in the restaurant. This is their final get together, a party to celebrate everyone’s hard work. They had their meals, their toasts, even the cake cutting earlier. The final part was watching the final episode with the whole crew.

When her character made the last jump to end the scene, everybody clapped and cheered. They both stood and bowed, their thanks effusive. Her eyes tear up again; she can’t help it. All these emotions are too overwhelming right now. Her happiness, sadness, appreciation to all, they all translated to her tears falling.

He turns to her then and she reaches to give him a hug in front of everyone. This is so unlike their last day, when they were both so reserved, almost speechless in their thanks to everybody. This time they hugged, tightly at that. Her arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders, his wound themselves around her waist. They both didn’t want to let go, but let go they did, after hearing how much louder the cheers have gotten from their rapt audience.

They face the crew once more. Everybody held their glasses and bottles up for another round of toast. The camera pans to catch everyone’s smiling faces, some wiping their tears, some hugging their friends. After the camera completed its round, it was turned off and set aside, as if on cue that the next bit would be solely for them, not for public viewing.

Pd-nim stood and gave his appreciation once more, speaking of how much a priviledge it was for him to work with this crew. He turned to thank the writer and the production team for bringing this drama and cast together, then finally turning to thank both the leads.

She stands to face them, her face still flushed from earlier. She too bowed and thanked everybody.

“I cannot tell you how much this drama meant to me; words are insufficient. This would not have been possible without all of you.” She bit her lips and could not continue; her feelings so close to the surface. She took a deep breath, holding her hand out to him who sat watching her. He is always close by should she ever need him.

And she did. Needed him. He stood before she could speak, his arms again drape around her shoulder so, so possessively, so nonchalantly that the room quieted immediately.

“I too have much to be thankful for, and not just to the people who brought this drama together,” he said amidst the hushed silence. He looked at her first, the way she is smiling so shyly, then glanced around the faces of the crew meaningfully. “I thank you all for taking care of us; you all have become a family we will always treasure. This collaboration will always be special to us both.”

He turns to grasp both her hands, “... and we hope you will continue to watch over us even after this drama is over so we can continue Bong Bong and Min Min’s love story.” She met his stares, his eyes that is overflowing with love for her, and she too let everybody see her heart peeking out from her eyes.

And with that he drops a kiss on her lips, bringing the house down in thunderous cheers and applause. Amidst the yells and whistles from all, Pd-nim sported the hugest grin.

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A/N: 

Cheesy and angsty, I know. I can't help it. I miss them.

This  was a very old unstructured drabble that i finally got around to polish and finish. It was supposed to be part of the This Heart Beats for You series but it didn't fit too well. Hope you still enjoy it..

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